Friday, November 7, 2008

Meanwhile, Bones is on the move again. One of the fall's happier (if under-reported) success stories, currently ruling its Wednesday time period, is being shifted to the hot spot of Thursdays at 8/7c. (Thankfully not to Fridays, where Fox has threatened to move the show for years.) Sounds like throwing Bones to the wolves, but look closer and you'll see an opportunity here on a night where Fox has underperformed for years. The competition isn't nearly as powerful as it gets later in the night, with NBC's comedies (My Name Is Earl and the dreadful Kath & Kim) especially vulnerable and Ugly Betty probably not much of a factor. Survivor of course is still formidable, and Smallville has a lock on its cult niche, but Bones is one of the most agreeable crime dramas on any network and has proven its worth as a utility player for Fox. Paired with a new season of Hell's Kitchen, this night makes sense to me (although I'd personally prefer Bones air on a less crowded night, for selfish reasons).

Zap2It has a full analysis of Fox's mid-season schedule change. They don't think Bones can keep it's full audience. What do you think?

Thursday -- After years of threatening to move Bones to Friday, this is the closest FOX has come. This side of House, Bones is FOX's most solid show, both in terms of creative merits and an audience that has followed it wherever it has gone. If Bones can bring 85% of its audience with it from Wednesday, that would be a huge boon for FOX's Thursday performance. Both Bones and Hell's Kitchen should offer big improvements over FOX's recent Thursday performances, probably making the network at least competitive with NBC in the 18-49 demo.